The IIDS Digital Meet brought together experts, policymakers, educators, technologists, and youth leaders to explore the intersections of digitalization, privacy, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence (AI), and their collective impact on Nepal’s economic transformation. Structured as an open, solution-oriented dialogue, the event highlighted Nepal’s potential to leapfrog into a borderless digital economy through investment in digital public infrastructure, innovation ecosystems, and skills development. Dr. Biswash Gauchan emphasized the structural inefficiencies in Nepal’s economy and proposed that digital services exports could help overcome geographical constraints, calling for Nepal’s digital ambitions to be translated into an actionable national strategy. Speakers including Maneet Dhungel, Dr. James B.D. Joshi, and Dr. Topraj Gurung expanded on this vision, underscoring that digitalization is a means to achieving transparency, innovation, and inclusive growth—not an end in itself. On cybersecurity, Dr. Joshi advocated for privacy-by-design principles, secure data governance, and user-centered digital frameworks, urging proactive security embedded at the design stage rather than reactive approaches.
Addressing artificial intelligence, Dr. Gurung emphasized ethical AI, cybersecurity integration in product development, and leveraging Nepal’s clean energy advantage for AI infrastructure, while also calling for industry-aligned bootcamps and hands-on training to equip youth for the global market. The discussion also tackled broader issues such as diaspora engagement, data sovereignty, and youth participation in governance. Audience concerns ranged from regulatory gaps to the need for open-source adoption and inclusive digital policies. In response, speakers stressed the importance of multi-sectoral collaboration, open innovation, and institutional frameworks that serve both public and private interests. A pivotal highlight of the DNF 2.0 framework was the introduction of the FAST Framework—Foundation, Access, Skills, and Transformation—offered as a strategic approach to inclusive and sustainable digital development in Nepal. Key takeaways from the event included the urgency of ethical and privacy-centric AI governance, robust digital and cybersecurity infrastructure, digital literacy and industry-aligned education, strategic deployment of renewable energy for digital growth, and the empowerment of youth and diaspora in digital policymaking.